Out of the Stillness
by kabukimono
Summary: For her first assignment, Edea had expected something more exciting. But no, her father has assigned her to join Alternis Dim as he investigates the Wind Temple. Tension and desire both rise and fall between them, driven by the stillness of the wind. Out of that same stillness comes the flicker of a fairy's wings. Is it true? Could Edea cleanse the Crystal of darkness? A BD AU.


For her first assignment, Edea had expected something a bit more… exciting. Something that actually made _use_ of all the skills she had spent years perfecting under Master Kamiizumi! She wanted to be right in the middle of the action, maybe even an assignment where she could use whatever feminine wiles she had to hunt _down_ that Wind Vestal that all of Eternia was looking for. Would that even work on another woman? Who knew, but she wanted to try it.

No, instead her father had decided that for her first assignment, she needed a babysitter, and that she needed to be shipped somewhere away from the front line, and so he assigned her to stay with stick-in-the-mud Alternis Dim as the two traveled to Ancheim to investigate the Wind Vestal's flight from the Temple of Wind. She jeered at his back as they walked across the blazing desert, making quick work of the small monsters that popped out of the sand to attack them.

"Aren't you hot?" she asked, curious. She was wearing a thin cotton cloak to cover her sensitive skin from the sun but the thick leather of her uniform was still heavy and stifling. For his part, Alternis was clad in the full armor of the Dark Knight Asterisk. He had to be cooking alive! He certainly didn't smell good.

"I'm fine," he grunted. "Don't worry about me."

He apparently wasn't fine, because halfway to the Temple of Wind, he abruptly decided to make camp, and set up a small tent using the supplies they had carried all the way from The Dark Knight, his airship. Edea huddled under the tent with him, thankful to be out of the direct sun, even if the air was stifling and still.

"Do you think it's true, what they say?" she asked, fanning herself with the edge of a folded up report.

"What do they say?" he asked. He had taken off his helmet, not least so that he could guzzle down some water, and his face was bright red and sweaty. Edea tried not to stare, because then he snapped at her, but it was the first time she had seen in his face in a long while. She'd forgotten how unique the color of his eyes were, or how bright his hair was, or how sharp his cheekbones and chin were.

"That the Crystal was covered by darkness, and that's why the wind no longer blows. And that the Water Crystal too, has been attacked by the evil, which is why the oceans have rotted."

"Perhaps," he replied. "That's why we're going to _investigate_ , Edea. It can't be ruled out until we see the state of the crystal ourselves."

"Whatever," she said, flapping at a hand at him. The Earth Crystal had been covered in darkness for years, supposedly, and nothing bad had happened. She'd never actually been to Everlast Tower herself, but she'd talked to plenty of soldiers who had.

Alternis scowled at her. The scowl was made less effective by the bright pink bobby pins she had loaned to him, so that he could pin his hair away from his damp face. "You could try to take this seriously. This is your first assignment."

"It's not much of an assignment, is it?" she replied, fully aware that Alternis was her commanding officer and that speaking like to her CO would result in the very least, push-ups and the very most, a write-up. But Alternis said nothing. Instead, he narrowed his hazel eyes at her as he drank from his flask again, but then averted his gaze to the desert. Edea followed his sight, noting that it was so damn hot that the heat was visible, rising from the sand in burning waves.

"We'll head out after sunfall," he said. That she could agree with him on. There was no way she was going to go back out there with the sun blazing. How did people live in this weather?

When night came, they broke camp and made the rest of the journey to the temple now that the desert was sufficiently cool. Edea was _glad_ to see the weathered stone of the ancient building. Sand was everywhere. In her boots, down her top, somehow she swore it had gotten into her panties… it was also piled up in the entryway to the temple, and she sighed as she sat heavily down on a stone bench, removing her boots.

"What are you doing?" Alternis asked. He closed the heavy wooden doors behind them and set his pack down in the shadows. On their way, the two had come to unanimous agreement that they would stay the full day in the temple if they must, if only to avoid the terrible heat of the desert sun again.

"Getting some of this damn sand out," she said, upending her boot over. Sand poured from it. "Don't you have some up your shoes as well?" Well his boots.

Alternis said nothing, but shifted uncomfortably. "Sand always gets in the cracks of everything," he commented, but did nothing to relieve himself of said sand. Edea huffed.

"Let's get this over with."

The Temple was _wrecked_. Edea didn't know if it was bandits or monsters, though neither jumped out at them in the darkness. The two of them warily and slowly made their way through the ruins. Blood and more dusty, decayed remains were scattered throughout the temple, hidden under walls that had caved in, or furniture that had been destroyed by some unseen force that had gone wild through the building. Edea held her breath the first time they came across the remains of a woman's body, torn apart by… something

"You don't have to look," Alternis said, as he kneeled closer to examine the marks left behind on the woman's weathered skin. The relative dryness of the Temple meant that she was decaying slowly, drying out.

"I'm fine," she managed to force out, but if she said anything more she felt like she might throw up. She'd been in her fair share of fights before, but seeing a corpse torn apart like this was something new. She didn't speak again until Alternis covered the body with planks of wood from a nearby table that had been smashed. "What do you think happened?"

"I can't tell," he replied, his voice grimmer than normal. "The marks on the body were not caused by man or beast. It's something else entirely."

"That's great," she said sarcastically. "So we might be fighting something we've never seen before."

"There's no need to worry," he said, and though his voice might have been intended to be comforting, it came across as condescending. "I've... got your back."

Could he even _see_ her back through the helmet? Though the moon was out, and the stars were bright in this windless, cloudless desert, the temple was still dark, and he had refused to take off his helmet. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Eventually, they made their way to what seemed like the main heart of the temple. By now she was tired, aching, and way too tense from jumping at every shadow. They'd been at this for hours, and morning was not far off, judging by how the sky was lightening, just visible through the high windows.

"We're staying here tonight, right?" she asked Alternis as he fiddled with the lever they had found. Debris was stuck in it, but he'd spotted the wires that attached it to a door mechanism that had been locked from the other side.

"We can," he replied, distracted as he tried to claw out the splinters using the sharp tips of his gauntlet. "I must admit, I would rather avoid the desert sun if I can. Travelers usually do."

"Sounds great," she sighed, stretching until she felt some of her back pop. In the same moment, he managed to free the mechanism from the jam, and a door popped open down the wall, giving them a straight exit. Good. Now they wouldn't have to make their way back amongst the dead and destruction. "Let's go."

"We've yet to see the Crystal," he reminded her sternly. "Don't forget our mission."

"I _didn't,_ " she replied, frowning at him. It was clear that something had happened to the Temple even without seeing the Crystal! No wonder the Vestal had fled, and if the girl had lived through whatever had destroyed her home, she could easily make it across the world.

He shook his head at her and said nothing, walking past her into what looked like the Crystal Chamber. From where they stood, she could see its light radiating through the wide doorway. Or… what was left of its light, at least.

Edea had never seen a Crystal before, and so she was not fully prepared for its sheer _size._ It was unmatched by anything she had ever seen before, and she and Alternis stood in the archway in silence, staring up at it. It floated in its chamber, a vast room that looked small in comparison to the Crystal it held.

It would have been a magnificent sight, something awe-inspiring, were it not covered in thick Darkness, the black substance covering it like wax and nearly extinguishing its light. Pale green was only just visible, dim and weak.

"That's a Crystal," Edea breathed. The pale green that had once been the Crystals light pulsed, as though disturbed by her words.

"Then it's true; it has been tainted by whatever force has swept through our world," Alternis said, jolted out of his reverie. "We'll report this to the Grand Marshal. Good job, Edea."

Close by the Crystal Chamber they discovered a set of rooms that seemed to have belonged to the Vestal before she fled. It contained a bed that was still intact, if not covered in dust from the ceiling partially caving in, and a small, clean restroom that they both took full advantage of. They would spend the night there, Alternis decided, since the sink faucet still worked and the door to the bedroom was still on its hinges. They could refill their water bags and barricade the door with a bookshelf for security. He returned to the entranceway to get his pack with their supplies, while Edea stayed behind, investigating.

And by investigating, she meant that she dove into the girl's wardrobe, interested in what on earth a Vestal would wear.

"Hey Alternis," she said, when she heard him coming back through the door. She could tell it was him by the sound of his armor, especially with the sand stuck in the cracks. "Check this out."

In front of her she held out what she supposed was this 'Vestal garb' she had heard of before. The Earth Vestal's garb had been destroyed along with her body, but she'd seen pictures in books. It was a scant piece of fabric, threadbare in some places, that even in the dim light shimmered with the many colors of the rainbow. In its prime, it could have been beautiful, and for a moment she wished she could see it whole. "Do you think she actually wears this?"

"What are you - put that down," Alternis said as he set the pack near the door. He seemed frozen otherwise, standing there awkwardly.

"It's so _small_ ," she said, turning it around in her hands before pulling it to herself. The hem was pretty short, reaching to the very tops of her thighs. Wow. "It's just like lingerie, don't you think?"

Alternis made a strangled noise.

"They do call them 'Brides of the Crystal'," Edea recalled. So this was what they meant… a bride could wear this to see her beloved husband as she prayed to and worshipped him - it. That was a bit much, she decided, but as the fabric once again threw bright rainbows at her in the light, she also decided.

"Wait there, I want to try it on."

"No you're not!" Alternis tried to command, but she was closer to the restroom than he, and she slipped into the small room. He wouldn't dare follow her into here, she thought with a grin, and it was very tempting to _stay_ there the whole night just to have some peace and quiet, but then her stomach rumbled and she remembered that their rations were in their pack. She'd have to come out at some point, just so that she didn't starve.

Since she was already here… Edea made quick work of her Sky Knight uniform, sighing with relief as the thick leather was removed from her skin and… as the grains of sand that had been wedged under it were freed from where they had been scratching at her. _How_ did sand get everywhere, she thought, brushing herself dry and shaking out her uniform until nothing else came loose. Her leggings were peeled away next, much for the same reason, and they were damp with sweat besides. She even removed her boots, once more emptying them of the endless sand.

She could _sort of_ see the appeal of such, airy fabric, she decided as she tugged on the Vestal garb. Surely it wouldn't normally have so many holes in it - it must have also been torn apart by the force that had run through the Temple - but it felt wonderfully cool on her skin, even in the still air. With airflow, it would likely feel even better, she thought as she tugged it down over her hips. Or _tried to_ , at least, because the hemline barely covered her bottom and she wondered how the Vestal didn't flash her panties with every movement.

The little room was stifling. Edea opened the door and stepped out, opening her arms with a flourish. "What do you think? Could I be a Vestal like this?"

Alternis, who apparently been trying to distract himself by unpacking their supplies, whirled around with a clatter. The next moment, he had fallen to his backside, his hands clutching the faceplate of his helmet. Edea frowned. Surely she didn't look _that_ bad. Maybe her hips were a little wide and her thighs very pale due to lack of sun exposure, but she usually thought she looked alright.

"Put your clothes back on!" he hissed, scooting back as she approached him.

"Not yet," she said. "It's nice and cool. Aren't you hot in your armor?" she pointed out. Even indoors it was warm, due to the lack of wind, and she really did feel nice.

"I'm fine," he replied vehemently, turning away. "But you're exposed."

"Am I?" Edea asked, trying to look and tug the hemline down in the same movement. She honestly couldn't tell. Could he see her panties? For a moment, she was annoyed she had worn the regulation panties, plain white cotton that didn't even have the slightest bit of lace on them. If someone was going to see them, even someone like Alternis Dim, she wanted them to be nice looking.

Alternis scrambled to stand to his feet now. "I-I-I insist that you go and change back into your uniform, Edea. This isn't proper."

Edea rolled her eyes at him. "Of course it's not proper, Alternis." And of course, goody two shoes Alternis cared more about _that_ than things like being comfortable and not smelling like a dying animal. In the enclosed space, his scent was really… ripe. She wondered if he would take his armor off to sleep.

"Your father would not be pleased to see you wearing it," Alternis started, and that was his downfall.

"My father isn't here," Edea pointed out. "He won't know unless you tell him." She most certainly would not, not least because she barely saw him these days. Edea poked a finger against Alternis's chestplate and he backed up, until the wings of his armor scrapped the stone wall of the room they were in.

"I will if I must," Alternis said, his voice high. She imagined his unseen face was quite red, perhaps as red as it had been in the heat. "It's _Crystalism_ _,_ Edea."

"... Is that all?" she asked, slightly disappointed. She had thought with his intense reaction that he had been embarrassed to see her in something so slight, and that perhaps he experienced emotion like other people. No, he was just horrified that she wore the clothes of the enemy.

"It's… quite short," he added. "You said it yourself, did you not? L-l-lingerie."

"I may sleep in it," she decided, and he choked.

"I beg your pardon?!"

"If it's lingerie, then I can wear it to sleep." Edea owned exactly one piece of real lingerie and that had been a gift to herself for her 18th birthday. Given Eternia's climate, she hadn't actually ever worn it to bed, but it had a place deep in her wardrobe for a special day. It was much like the garment she wore now, light and short, but see-through with fur at the edges. It had made her feel mature. "It's fitting."

"You - you will not," he said, voice firm. "I command that you put your uniform back on, even to sleep."

"Oh come _on_ , Alternis," she griped. He _was_ her commanding officer, but this was a bit much. "It's hot, we're both tired, and just because you don't like it doesn't mean I have to change!"

He was quiet for a long moment. She really wished she would take that helmet off, if only so she could potentially punch him without hurting her hand on the sharp edges of it.

"It's not that I don't like it, Edea," he finally said, his voice so quiet that even in the still air she had to strain to hear. "It's just that you are exposing yourself far too much. I don't want any others to see you like this."

"Really?" she asked, surprised. It really was very hot in the room, even though the windows were less like true windows and more like open holes in the wall. There was no airflow and it was stifling, and she could feel sweat drip down the back of her neck. "We're alone."

"I am aware," he said in that same quiet voice, and they were so close that it took very little movement for him to brace a hand on her hip. She exhaled softly; the hard metal of his gauntlets was a sharp contrast to the silk of the fabric. She could feel the heat of his touch.

She pressed her hands to his chest as Alternis, seemingly emboldened by her lack of protest, lifted his other hand to her side, fingers easily encircling her waist. "Hmm," she said, thinking aloud, her fingers skittering across his chest plate. "If we're _alone_ , then there's no problem that I'm dressed like this, is there? You're the only one that will see it."

"Edea, please," he pleaded, voice tight. His fingers squeezed her hip. She leaned forward into his chest, to hide the small smile that was making its way across her lips. So maybe it was true - he could actually experience emotions outside of anger and annoyance. With her movement, his arms encircled carefully around her, the man ever-aware of the sharpness of his armor, and Edea actually found herself _enjoying_ being held - she hadn't been held by anyone in such a long, long time. Alternis was breathing harshly, and for a moment she worried that he was on the verge of some sort of attack. His armor had to be stifling.

"Alternis, please," she parroted his words back at him, and pulled back enough so that she could reach up to his helmet. He tried to turn his head away, but Edea was nothing if not a fast learner, and her fingers easily found the latch in the back that kept it tight upon his head. A quick release and she could lift the helmet off him, Alternis giving only a token protest. He took the helmet from her and held it with one hand.

His face was red, and gleaming with sweat. His hair, dark silver with the dim light and the wet, stuck to his forehead and cheeks, and she immediately reached up to sweep it out of his eyes. "I don't know how you can stand that in this heat," she remarked, pulling down his half-mask with another movement. He took a deep breath, and she felt the sharp claws of his gauntlet draw lightly against her exposed back, catching on the ties that held the garment closed.

"One grows accustomed," he mumbled, and with the helmet off, she could see the way his hazel eyes swept over her form, his gaze dipping down to her bare collarbone and to where the Vestal garb was loose around the top, the neckline only barely hiding her cleavage.

"You should take the rest of the armor off," she suggested, curious as to if he'd listen to her. It _was_ practical. With how hot the desert had been yesterday, he'd risked heat stroke. But it was also…

She was already pushing at his shoulder guards, and he stopped her with a hand. "Do you truly think I should?" he asked, his breath short. "I'm not sure, Edea…"

"It's _hot_ in this damnable desert," she reminded him, and though she didn't know how his particular armor worked, she had worn similar armor herself, and quickly found the connection between two pieces, unsnapping it so it could be separated. "You'll feel much better, trust me. It's just the two of us, here. No one else will see."

With her cajoling, he reluctantly began to remove his armor. Edea stepped back to leave him to it, watching curiously as he removed pieces bit by bit, from the shoulder guards to the winged waist plates to the sharpened manifers. All went into a careful pile by the wall, the man turning away from her as he removed all the metal until what was left was his black body - oh, it was _two_ pieces, she realized as he took hold of the waistline of his top and fluffed it out briefly away from his torso, allowing air to circulate up.

"See?" she said, taking his arm in hers. Through the suit she could feel how muscular he actually was, especially as she held his bicep against her chest. He looked down at her, eyes wide. "Don't you feel better already?"

"Perhaps," he admitted, and he paused. "It is hot, though I'm not sure that removing my armor has helped."

"Why not?" she asked, frowning up at him.

"You're still exposed," he pointed out, and he turned to her now. Edea shivered as his hands reached up to the back of her neck, fingers sweeping the sensitive skin there as he gathered up her hair, twisting it up into a loose bun at the top of her head. "Surely you've noticed that despite your lack of dress, it is getting warmer. You'll overheat."

It _was_ getting warmer, a heat that was inside instead of just out. "That's because you're touching me," she complained as he tucked the ends of her hair into the bun. She remembered that as children, they had played each other other's hair often, and she had taught him how to braid. He was good with hair, as evidenced by how silky his own looked.

"Is that so?" His voice was quiet, but there was the tiniest touch of amusement to it. "Shall I stop?"

If she told him to stop, she knew that he would. He would stop and apologize and then she could keep teasing him, which was always fun. But right now, he was starting to tease her back and that was a new feeling; she didn't know what he'd do, and it had been very a long time since Alternis had been unpredictable. She hesitated, and was aware that in her hesitation, his fingers played with the wispy hair at the nape of her neck.

"If I say no, what would you do?" she asked, curious.

Alternis thought for a moment. "I do think that you should change," he finally said, and she tried not to feel disappointment. "It exposes far too much of your skin, Edea. I know you're hot, but that's not an excuse for showing your thighs like this. It's distracting."

" _Distracting_?" she laughed, incredulous. Okay, that was not what she had been expecting from him. "When have you ever been distracted by anything?"

"When it comes to you, everything," he said, and then his fingers trailed over her bare collarbone, and she was so surprised that she could only gaze up at him. His hazel eyes were dark in the light, the color of them nearly obscured by the wideness of his pupils as he looked down at her. "I truly mean it. You are…"

She was beginning to think that he was serious. "Alternis," she breathed, as his fingers left trails of heat across already warmed skin, crossing over to rest in the small of her back. She shifted closer and her thigh brushed his hip. He thought she was _distracting_ , he didn't want others to see it, he…

He was far too close and smelled of sweat and metal, almost unpleasantly so. Most of his hair was stuck to his face, but there was a stubborn strand that stuck out awkwardly, sweat beading at the tip of it that threatened to drip on her. But the heat that he gave off was nothing compared to what suddenly spiked in her lower belly when it dawned on her what his words meant, and that the hardness she could feel pressing against her thigh was not a piece of armor he had forgotten to take off.

She reached with her hands to cradle his face, and his own hands squeezed her waist, pulling her up to help bridge the gap between them. His lips were chapped and tasted of salt, but Edea pressed eagerly to them all the same. Alternis was surprisingly gentle as he kissed her back, though no less eager.

They had to part for air, gasping for it in the stillness of the Temple.

"It's hot," she complained, leaning her head back. He dipped back in for another kiss, and this time their tongues met, curling around each other. She found herself groaning into his open mouth as he pressed her back against the stone wall, the kiss deepening in intensity until his lips felt almost bruising against hers, his teeth sharp. The stone, at least was cool, and she closed her eyes as the sensations warred with each other in her, clinging to him. Between the two of them, the heat was at a boiling point.

"Whose fault do you suppose that is?" he asked when he pulled away for a fresh breath of air. Rather than reply to him, she kissed him again, biting.

"Not mine," she gasped when they broke away. His lips trailed down to her chin, and she tilted her head back, giving him the invitation to continue his way down her neck, where he chased droplets of sweat with his tongue.

"I told you," he murmured, licking at her pulse point. She tried to press her thighs together, but he had slipped one of his legs between them. "You are nothing but distracting in this garb. It isn't helping."

"Then remove it," she challenged him.

"I should," he replied, his fingers were already picking at the knot of ties behind her back. Edea arched up into him, giving him better access to it. The thing really was very flimsy, she thought, as he worked on the knot until it gave way. With that undone, there was very little saving the fabric from gravity's influence, and it slipped down her stomach.

His mouth was still an inferno as he kissed his way across her collarbone, sucking on her exposed skin. Her fingers tangled in his hair, guiding him this way and that. When they joined together some moments later, the tension between them now shattered thoroughly, the pleasured cries they made echoed in the still air of the Temple for all and no one to hear. Edea did not have time to feel ashamed, because exhaustion soon followed that pleasure, and she curled in on herself.

"We… should sleep," Alternis said with slurred words. He was sitting up, but seemed to be having trouble keeping himself awake, swaying slightly. She watched him struggle to pull his clothes off, peeling the black top over his head and shoving the pants completely off his muscular legs. She ended up helping him before he trapped himself. "It's getting late. Early."

"Agreed," she replied, and took no care for their nudity as she crawled toward him and pressed herself to his form. Despite the heat of the now muggy, sweat-scented air, Alternis wrapped his arms around her and lowered them both to the floor, where she could cushion her head on his shoulder as sleep overtook her.

She woke up far too soon, by both the disgusting heat and by the feeling between her legs. A glance at the man next to her told her that he was still asleep. His face was no longer red, but it still shone with sweat. Carefully extracting herself from him - easier said than done when their bare skin stuck together - she managed to crawl to the tiny restroom that connected to the bedroom.

She _ached_ , and so it was with a careful hand that she cleaned herself up and then redressed in the Vestal garb that had remained stubbornly around her waist, once more redoing the ties at the back that held the top part in place.

When she came back to the bedroom, she was not surprised that Alternis was awake, sitting up so that he could go through their pack. He had located his underwear and tugged it back on, but the rest of him was bare, leaving her to try and remind herself that _this_ was what he looked like underneath all that imposing black armor. His arms and legs were muscular, well-formed, and his face was lean with high cheekbones, and despite the scars that dotted his skin, he was unfairly attractive. Maybe the scars even added to his appeal.

"Did I wake you?" she asked. He turned to her, and she could see him look her up and down.

"Not at all," he replied. "It's getting too warm in here. I wonder if we should try to find another room to stay in."

"It is," she agreed, and came to settle behind him, sitting gingerly. He seemed to notice and frowned at, turning back to the pack. "If we go to another room, we might not have the privacy we do here." All the other rooms were wrecked, and plenty opened up to the desert where the outer walls had collapsed.

He was quiet for a moment, still focused on going through their supplies. Only when he emerged with a Hi-Potion, which he offered to her, did he speak. "Edea, about what just happened…"

She took the potion from his hands, uncorking it and throwing it back. Immediately, the ache in her legs faded, leaving her much more comfortable. "What about it?"

The sex had been _good_ , if not surprising that he'd been so eager for it. They were friends, of course, perhaps even close friends, and had grown up together. But he had gotten so involved in serving her father, so focused on doing the man's bidding that she assumed he had grown to see her as a disappointment, the same her father did. Apparently, she had been wrong, judging by the look in his eyes he'd given her when he'd hit his climax. The emotions she'd seen then had left her breathless.

"It…" he started, then stalled. "Did it mean to anything to you?" He had a Potion of his own, which he drank.

She had been dreading this question or anything like it. "Did it mean anything to you?" she deflected.

"Yes," he said immediately, and he looked down at the empty potion bottle in his hand before he tossed it at the far wall, where it shattered amongst the stone and wooden debris. "It did. Now I ask again, did it mean something to you?"

She drew her legs to her chest, realizing belatedly that she had left her panties on the floor. Indeed, his eyes darted down, and then back to her face. "I think so," she confessed. That was the best she could do.

There had been a tension between them, built after years of conflict but tentative understanding, and she knew that tension had snapped, leading to what had happened. That didn't mean she didn't care for him, or that she hadn't wanted it - because she certainly had - but there was a lot of baggage here, and she had no idea how to even begin unpacking it all. Maybe…

"I'd like to get to know you better," she said and he tilted her head at her. "I do care for you, Alternis, but it's been so long since we've spent time together, in any way. This is new. You should know that I have never slept with any other."

"Neither have I," he replied. "Edea, I - "

"Wait, you haven't?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I heard those rumors about you hooking up with people! Like that threesome?" It had been the talk of the forces a couple of years ago, that Alternis had been involved in a raunchy threesome with Holly Whyte and Barras Lehr on his 21st birthday, which had led to him being reassigned to Eisenberg. All sorts of other juicy rumors had followed, including something with him and Konoe Kikyo getting a little too creative with some of the ninja's weapons.

He flushed hotly. "Those were mere rumors! They - they _did_ invite me but I swear to you, nothing happened. I was too … drunk. So were they."

"Huh. Then why were you so good just now?"

"I - beg your pardon?" he gasped. The red in his cheeks was spreading down his neck. Edea watched, fascinated. Even his ears were turning red.

"You seemed like you have experience. You certainly knew how to use your tongue," she pointed out, and now he buried his face in his hands, hiding it from her view.

"I - I do not. Have experience, that is," he insisted, voice thick with embarrassment. He peeked at her through his fingers, and when she cackled unkindly at his discomfort, dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. "I'm… only… I'm only well-read."

That explained it. He'd always been a book nerd and she knew he had gone through Mahzer's collection of romance novels when they were young for something to read, given how easy they were to access. She smiled at him and reached over to stroke his bare thigh, intending to be comforting. His leg twitched at the contact, and he slowly lowered his hands to look at her.

They sat in awkward silence as she continued to stroke his leg, noticing the effect it seemed to have on him. He shifted uncomfortably and moved closer so that he could wrap a tentative arm around her waist. She leaned into him, her hand moving to his inner thighs, which parted. When her fingers ghosted over the front of the cotton fabric, he let out a soft groan. In response, her stomach growled.

Both of them paused.

"We should eat," he suggested and reluctantly moved away from her so that he could grab their pack again.

"Please," she begged. They hadn't eaten since their stop in the middle of the desert the evening before. She had been prepared to have to deal with rations, hardy supplies that could survive a trip through the desert and back, but that didn't involve going so long between meals.

He passed a portion of the rations over to her and the two of them ate in relative silence. The cool fruit juice helped to quench some of the heat that simmered over her skin, and while the dried meats and fruits weren't the tastiest, they did a decent job of filling her stomach. By the time she was finished eating, she felt good enough to take another nap. They had nothing to do but wait for night to fall, after all, and it was too hot to do much but sleep… or maybe fuck, she thought, pulling Alternis off the floor and leading him toward the bed shoved in the corner.

Alternis joined her in stretching out on it after they brushed it off, and Edea tangled her legs with his, pillowing her head on his shoulder. The Vestal garb that she still wore, thoroughly dirted, bunched around her waist and made for easy access for him as his slender fingers played with her hip, then danced down to caress her bottom, and down further still.

"You'll have to change out of it eventually," he commented as she played with the waistband of his drawers. "I think you lack the basic requirements to be a Vestal virgin, now."

In response, she squeezed him harshly through the fabric, noting with pleasure how he tensed and groaned, biting his lip.

"Do you think it really matters?" she breathed into his ear. "Don't tell me you really believe in Crystalist propaganda."

"I don't," he said firmly, and his mouth caught hers for a moment. She hummed into the kiss, while at the same time, Alternis rolled over on top of her, nudging her thighs apart. From there, he could enter her quite easily, and Edea sighed as they joined once more. Later, when they'd both reached their peak and come down from it, and when they were cooling down beside each other, he spoke up, voice quiet.

"Do you want to keep at this?" he asked her.

"Hmm?" Edea murmured, turning to him. The air was hot, but with the sweat cooling on their skin, she almost felt comfortable. At least the room was in still in the shade, and the heat of the desert did not affect them.

"Do this more often," he replied, hesitantly. "Join together."

"Yeah… sure," she decided, because it was great, though terrible at the same time. They needed airflow to be truly comfortable, and the very _idea_ of having sex in a place where she could actually breathe and not drown in a puddle of her own sweat afterwards was exciting. "We can. Do _you_ want to?"

"Yes," he breathed, and she realized that he'd likely wanted to for a while, given how reverently he'd touched her. He could just asked. "I would enjoy nothing more. Edea, I - "

"We'll have to be careful though, I suppose," she said, yawning as she spoke. "You're my commanding officer, after all, though I don't think there are any real rules against us sleeping together." She hadn't exactly pored through the handbooks for rules, but given some of the things she'd heard, an explicit rule against COs sleeping with subordinates wasn't in place, was it?

"There are not," he replied, and she would trust him because he was nothing if not a stickler for the rules. He said nothing more as she nestled into his shoulder, instead winding his arms around her. "I promise you, I will be careful."

The next time she drifted awake, the sun seemed to be going down, the sky outside awash with deep reds and light purples. Alternis fully woke her with a kiss, reminding her that they needed to get ready to leave so they could reach Ancheim before the next day's sunrise or risk baking in the desert. She resisted as much as possible, coaxing him into a good, long kissing session before duty prevailed, and he left her to clean himself up and begin the long process of fastening his armor back on.

Edea sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for him to finish in the bathroom. As she sat, yawning, she noticed that out of the stillness of the ruined temple, a light flickered. She tensed. The small crystals that had been the light fixtures for the temple did not flicker in such a way, nor was this yellow light of a fire. This was bright, and white and - she reached for her sword, feeling awfully exposed in the Vestal garb. _Why_ hadn't she changed? Any number of creature or criminal might have entered an empty Temple, ripe for the plundering.

"Alternis!" she hissed.

The light paused outside the door, as though it had heard her. An elemental perhaps, she thought. They flickered with light just as this did and were sensitive to sound.

The door to the restroom opened, and Alternis took one look at her brandishing her sword before his gaze followed hers. His sword had been left by the door, but now he quickly moved for it, his steps silent with the lack of his armor… and also his clothing. It had been left in a pile on the floor.

"Is anyone there?" a voice filtered in through the thick wood of the door. A female's voice, high and desperate. "Hello?"

Edea and Alternis shared a look. Most monsters were incapable of intelligent speech, and the ones that were spoke with guttural tones. She'd never heard anything speak like this.

"Who is there?" Alternis demanded, tossing his sword at Edea. She grabbed it with her free hand and held it out in front of her as he picked up his clothes to tug them back on. She couldn't blame him; he was even more exposed than she, because at least the Vestal garb covered the essentials, even with the threadbare bits. "State your name!"

"Who are _you_?" the voice replied, demanding and bossy. "You shouldn't be here!"

"I asked you first," he demanded once he'd tugged his shirt on over his head. "State your name and your reason for being in this Temple!" Edea kept quiet for now. Let the thing think that it was just Alternis for now. It would give them an advantage of surprise.

"I'm a Cryst-fairy," came the reply. The light flickered, as though the being was agitated. "I _belong_ here!"

The next look that Alternis and Edea shared was one of bafflement. Cryst...fairies? Edea knew next to nothing about Crystalist lore, especially the kind that wasn't communicated via oral tradition from Eternian citizens, but she'd never heard of a _Cryst-fairy_ before. Didn't Florem have fairies? But they were supposedly harmless, mindless creatures, and she'd never heard of one speaking.

The voice - Cryst-fairy - continued. "I came to help the Vestals cleanse the Crystal of the Darkness that surrounds it. What are _you_ doing here?"

Alternis, now fully clothed, took his sword from Edea, handing her the earlier discarded panties with his other hand after he had. After she had tugged them on, the two stood next to each other, pointing their weapons at the door. "I've no need to reason to tell you," he said through the door. "What you're saying makes no sense."

The fairy sighed, audible even through the stone and wood. "You've seen the Crystal, haven't you? It can't stay like that or the darkness will spread across the whole world. You don't want that to happen, do you?"

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" Edea whispered to Alternis. He had to incline his head to hear her. "It is covered with Darkness, we saw it ourselves."

"I don't trust it," Alternis said, his voice just as quiet. "The Grand Marshal said we were not to allow the Vestal near the Crystals under any circumstances."

"Hello?" the fairy called. "Did you hear me?"

"There's no Vestal here," Alternis called to it. Her. "What will you do now?"

"There's no… Vestal?" the fairy said after a moment's hesitation. Her voice was sad, plaintive. "Then that means… there's no hope for the world. We're doomed. All of us."

Edea was thinking. Her father had said that the Vestals couldn't be near the Crystals but what if _she_ worked with the Fairy to clear the Darkness? It spoke truth in that the Crystal was tainted, and perhaps the wind could return if something was done. The oceans could be cleared. "Ask her for her name again," she hissed to Alternis.

The look he gave her was one of confusion, but he complied. "Your name!" he barked toward the door.

"Airy," the fairy replied. "I've told you everything, now won't you let me meet you? Even if there's no Vestal here, maybe you can help me find one."

The Sky Knight's orders had been to find the Wind Vestal in Caldisla, and the Blood Rose was working on flushing out the Water Vestal from the Flor Region. This fairy didn't need to know that. As long as she never met a Vestal, then what was the harm…?

"I'll open the door," Alternis said. "But I will not hesitate to strike you down should you force my hand," he warned, and his sword was tight in his right hand as he unhooked the door latch with the other and pushed it open.

Edea squinted. The light that the fairy let off, despite her size, was bright and piercing in the dimness brought on by the setting sun. The tiny being hovered in the doorway, smaller than anyone could have expected.

"Huh!" the fairy said, fluttering this way and that. With two swords pointed at her, she seemed hesitant to move forward. "I thought you said there was no Vestal. Did you lie to me?!"

"What?" Alternis said, then glanced at Edea and the garment she was wearing. "She's not a Vestal. She is - "

"I'm just borrowing it," Edea said, speaking for the first time. Suddenly, the clothes felt heavy on her skin. In the light that the fairy's wings gave off, the fabric shone with all the colors of the rainbow, bright over her skin. The dirt and stains that had accumulated on it from their earlier activities were nearly invisible in the brightness.

"She looks like a Vestal to me," the fairy said. She twirled in a tight circle gleefully. "I bet you could awa- you could cleanse the Crystal!"

Alternis lowered his sword, thunderstruck. "Her, cleanse the Crystal? Impossible!"

She shot him a look, unsure what he meant. Was he referring to her _lack of basic requirements_ or something else? "How could I?" she asked the fairy.

"All it takes is the Vestal garb and prayer," the fairy replied. "I'll walk you through it. The stories that say that even children can do it, so long as they're tuned in with the crystal. This is what I was born for, after all. I know all there is to know about the Crystals. Once the crystal is cleansed, the world will begin to heal."

Edea let her sword lower to her side. "And the wind will return?"

Alternis grabbed her arm. "You can't possibly be thinking about indulging this - beast," he hissed, ignoring the fairy's protest at the description. "How can you trust it?"

"What if it's right?" Edea countered. "We saw the Crystal ourselves. If it knows a way of cleansing it, and the wind returns, then isn't that good? Remember Ancheim? The King was making his people turn the windmill by hand in absence of the wind. Would you continue to let that happen?"

He faltered. They had been so focused on getting to the temple that they had only stayed one night in Ancheim, but they had not missed seeing and hearing the exhausted citizens. Edea had been disgusted by the way the King treated his people, but had at the time, understood the need to keep the Windmill going, since that powered the whole city. If the Windmill wasn't moving, that would shut down everything. Now, if they had a solution to the still air, they could free the citizens from their labor! Wouldn't Alternis _want_ that?

"I don't know," he said, softly. "What if it's dangerous?"

"It's not dangerous at all," the fairy said. "If it was dangerous, would anyone do it?"

Alternis lifted his sword to point it at her. "Step back- " he started, but Edea grabbed his sword hand in her own.

"Don't be so dramatic," she told him. "I'll do it," she said to the fairy.

"Oh, thank you, Edea!" the fairy said, fluttering over to her. It circled around the two humans tightly before coming to rest on Edea's shoulder. Now that she was closer, Edea could see her human-like form, surrounded on both sides by wings covered in a peculiar geometric pattern, almost like numbers. "You just have to tune your breathing to the Crystal and focus on it. I'll be there to walk you through it."

"I'm coming too," Alternis, clearly unhappy. His brows were furrowed as he looked over the fairy. "Don't you dare try anything, or I will not hesitate to strike you down."

The Crystal room was as they left it, the silence overbearing around the gigantic, slowly rotating Crystal. Edea walked up to the altar at the base of the Crystal, unable to take her eyes from its form. The light pulsed weakly, seemingly with each one of her steps as she climbed up the stairs and at the fairy's urging, kneeled in front of the stone slab. She knew Alternis was nearby, just a few paces behind her, and that gave her strength even as her heart pounded in her chest. The Crystal flickered.

"Clasp your hands together to your chest," Airy instructed. "Breathe in and out with the time of its pulses - you can see them, can't you?"

"Yes," Edea replied, and she had to stare at the crystal for a few moments as she aligned her breathing with it. The fairy's voice hovered on the edges of her consciousness, barely there.

"Breathe in… and out…" the tiny voice said. "You should start to feel the Crystal's presence in your whole body."

Edea wasn't sure she'd called it the _Crystal's_ presence, but there was something there that was larger than just she. It filled her with an energy that chased out the last vestiges of soreness and fatigue from her bones.

"Excellent," the fairy said. "Now focus on the Crystal. You want to fill it with your prayers and chase the Darkness from it."

What… prayers? Edea found herself bowing her head, clasping her hands tightly. Did the Vestals have actual prayers, or did they just think of the Crystal? And if so, what did they think about? She had heard of scripture, what did they entail? The presence in her body loomed, and she focused on it, shutting out all thoughts of everything but redirecting her energy toward the Crystal that hung before her. A low hum was in the air, growing strong with every passing moment. The Crystal, the Crystal… the Vestals were bride to the Crystal, she thought, her mind wandering as her heartbeat increased, its pace thundering through her form. She'd heard they or their acolytes spent every moment praying to it. And no wonder! The energy that coursed through her was electrifying, filling her veins and spreading across her skin. It was akin to the energy she had felt earlier, when…

The light in the room was growing. "Keep it up!" Airy crowed. "The Darkness is fading!"

Alternis gasped behind her. She could barely hear him through the roaring in her ears. "I don't believe it…"

Breath coming out in pants as she struggled to keep control of the energy that filled her, Edea focused all her thoughts on the Crystal, trying not to think of the moments just hours ago, when Alternis's fingers had been on her, his fingers had been _in_ her, and how the pounding of her heart then was just as it was now.

Light blazed through her closed eyelids and she nearly choked as she felt warmth seeping from the Crystal into her bones. Exhaustion was close behind it . "Almost there!" the fairy cried. "Hang in there, Edea!"

The Crystal needed the Darkness cleansed, she reminded herself, and thought of how brightly it would surely shine in its prime. If she could bring that shine back, then the wind would return and the people of Ancheim would be happy. It wouldn't be so hot, and maybe she and Alternis would be much more comfortable the next time they…

A blast of light lifted her hair from her shoulders, bringing with it a gust of wind. Edea gasped, holding her hand to her chest as she broke her prayer. Her other hand barely supported her as she all but collapsed on the altar.

It didn't matter. Airy's voice was audible through the pounding in her veins. "You did it! You cleansed the Crystal!"

"Edea!" Alternis's voice was close behind, and he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back before she lost all strength in her arm and fell face-first to the stone. She leaned weakly against him, gasping for breath. The energy that had filled her was gone, seemingly taking up place in the Crystal that hung suspended in air, light shining forth from deep within its depths. For a long moment, she gazed at its beauty, the pulsation of the light in time with her own heart. "What did you do to her?" he asked the fairy.

"I'm sorry," Airy said, coming close. "The cleansing ceremony is very exhausting, especially for someone untrained. But she just needs rest and then she'll be ready to cleanse the next one."

"What next one?" Alternis asked, his grip tightening on Edea. She closed her eyes, breathing in deep as her heartbeat slowed.

"Why, the Water Crystal! Or the Fire Crystal! Even the Earth Crystal. They've also been mired in the Darkness. You couldn't possibly let them stay like that, could you?"

"We didn't agree on that," Alternis started, but he stopped when Edea lifted a weak hand to his chest.

"It's fine," she managed to say. "I just need to rest, and then we can head back to the ship. We'll discuss things there."

The wind was returning, she realized, as it brushed hair across her face. It felt cool and _wonderful_ on her skin, and Alternis seemed to realize it as well, his fingers lifted up to sweep her hair out of the way. He glanced up at the fully cleansed Wind Crystal and seemed to think, pressing his lips together.

"Very well," he said. "You'll come with us," he told Airy.

"Of course!"

Edea did not have the energy to protest as Alternis picked her up in his arms, nor when he carried her down the altar and all the way back to the room they had been sharing. She did have the energy to sit up on the bed so that she could change, not caring if Airy _or_ Alternis saw her naked form as she peeled the Vestal garb from her body.

"It's all dirty," Airy commented, hovering low over the garb after Edea had folded it up and set it aside. "From the Temple's destruction?"

"Yes," Edea lied as she struggled to pull on her leggings, because she knew the moisture spots on the hem of the Vestal garb were from _her_. "We'll have to clean and mend it." She knew how to sew. How hard could it be? It wasn't like the thing was made of special thread or anything, right?

Alternis was in the process of fastening his armor back on. "We'll see," he amended for her. "I'd like to look into the Crystal cleansing ceremony."

"It's a Crystalist secret," the fairy told him. "Something that only Vestals know. You _won't_ find it written in anything but the most sacred of scripture."

"And I'd like to look into Cryst-fairies," he said, voice carrying as he blatantly ignored Airy.

"We're _also_ in only the most sacred of scripture!" she shrieked at him. Edea closed her eyes and focused on getting through tugging on the leather plates of her uniform. Was this how their trip back to The Dark Knight was going to be?

They returned to Anchiem by early morning, their travel made slow by Edea's pace, and with their arrival came the wind, gusting strong over the desert sands and catching the giant fans of the Great Windmill. As exhausted as she was, Edea stood with Alternis and watched with a smile as the people cheered the return of the wind, elated as the Windmill began to turn.

When the King came out to address his people, Alternis wrapped an arm around her waist and gently steered her away, to an inn. There, she slept through the better part of the day, nestling deep into a bed with sheets cooled by the wind swirling through the open windows.

When she woke, it was once again late afternoon. The blaze of the sun was nothing with the touch of the wind also on her skin.

"How are you feeling?" Alternis asked from where he sat on the other bed in the room. He had removed his armor, and was once again clad in only his bodysuit. It must have been cleaned, she realized, because he smelled so much better than he had before. He also looked like he'd showered.

"Better," she said, stretching and letting the sheets cascade to her waist. She'd had the presence of mind to strip out of her uniform before getting into bed, and though she likely should be more cautious with her nudity, it was _Alternis_. He'd already seen her naked, and more. "I needed the sleep."

"I'm glad," he said, and she saw him cast a glance to their pack. Just visible in it was Airy's flicker. "She's been resting. She says that while she doesn't need to eat or sleep as much as humans do, she does need it."

"Do you believe her?" Edea asked.

"She had me bring her some cookies earlier," Alternis replied. "I brought some for you, too."

"Not just about that," she said, though she made a mental note to eat those cookies later, and she slipped out of the bed so she could sit beside him, their thighs brushing together. "About cleansing the Crystals."

Alternis was quiet for a moment, even when she reached down to stroke his thigh. "I find it hard to believe," he finally said. "But I cannot deny that you did, in fact, cleanse the Crystal and return the wind to the region. I do have a question for her, however…"

"How are the people taking it? They seemed so happy earlier," she said, watching him. He looked deep in thought.

"They are happy," he said after a moment, and he lifted an arm to her waist, offering her a smile that made her heart leap. She liked him without the helmet. "You've lifted a weight off the shoulders of the civilians, and they are in your debt, as we all are."

"Should we keep going, then?" she asked. "The oceans are rotted… can we at least cleanse the Water Crystal? I don't know about the Fire or Earth Crystals, but without the oceans, people can't fish, they can't travel…"

"We could," he hesitantly agreed. "In Caldisla, when the boats sunk into the rotted seas… people were aboard them. Clearing the oceans should be a priority, I would say. You're right." He kissed the top of her head, and she found herself leaning against his chest. "But can you take another 'cleansing ceremony'? You were quite weak from it."

"I'm fine," she argued. "Not so weak that I can't do it again." It only stood to reason that it took so much energy to cleanse a darkened Crystal, especially for one untrained.

"I must say that I _am_ surprised you were able to do it," he commented idly, and she felt his fingers dance across her bare hip. "You're not a Vestal, not even a Crystalist, and not even a - "

"Say it and I'll end you," she commented, pressing an elbow into his side. His lips quirked, and he pulled her to him.

With his bodysuit cleaned and no longer damp with sweat, it was much easier for him to remove it. It piled on the floor, quickly joined by his underwear, and they huddled quietly under the blanket on the bed, the moving wind making it comfortable enough to do so. By the time the fairy woke from her nap, they had separated, cleaned up, and Edea, after eating and showering, had started work on mending the Vestal garb. She wanted it to be fixed before washing it, lest she tear it even worse.

"Where are we going next?" Airy asked, coming to rest on Edea's knee. The fairy watched her stitches closely.

"We'll leave soon for our airship," Alternis commented, looking out the window. The sun was dipping down toward the horizon, and the Windmill was just barely visible. "I restocked our supplies while you were asleep, so we'll be able to head out as soon as the sun is down."

Energized by both the sleep and the activity, Edea agreed readily. They departed barely an hour later, and made good time to the inner sea where The Dark Knight was docked, even with the small fights they entered. Here, Airy hid in Edea's pack, which held her rations and Vestal garb, as Alternis greeted his men.

"We traveled only at night to avoid baking in the sun, which is why we took so long," he explained to the navigator who had come down to see them. "My apologies."

"No, sir. We should have given you better supplies for it," Nebren Mez said, shaking his head. "I'll ask the scouts to make better notes on the environment next time. What's the state of the Crystal? We noticed the wind blowing from the south. "

"... if it was covered in Darkness, it is no longer," Alternis said slowly, and Edea exhaled softly behind him. "The Temple is a disaster, so something has obviously happened, but the Crystal has been cleansed of any dark influence that might have kept the wind at bay."

"Interesting. Should we assembly a squadron to return to gather scripture or monitor the Crystal's activity? Or will we be returning home?"

Edea kept her mouth shut behind the Dark Knight. She was just Alternis's subordinate, after all.

"Yes," Alternis decided after a pause. "We should stay here for now. The Temple has been destroyed and is abandoned, but that will only invite bandits. Who knows who may decide to plunder the temple of its valuables? We can remain here for a few weeks longer as we gather up what we can. I would rest easier know those items are in our hands."

"Understood," Nebren nodded.

"There were no monsters in the ruins, but we should still plan well," Alternis continued. "Have you heard from the Grand Marshal, by chance?"

"I have not," the navigator replied. "However… we did receive a message from the Sky Knights. I think you may like to read it." He cast a glance at Edea, and Alternis turned to her.

"You are dismissed," Alternis said, and she tried not to feel annoyed at how casual and cold his voice was. He was her commanding officer, after all, and she was just a soldier. Before she could though, his voice softened and his next orders were more gentle. "Go get some rest, Edea."

She went back to her quarters, where she unloaded her pack and let the fairy out of where she had been hiding.

"You're taking Crystalist scripture?" the fairy asked, suspicious.

"Do you want just anyone to get their hands on it?" Edea asked defensively as she changed out of her dirty uniform for the standard issue clothes she could wear around the ship while she did laundry. For some reason, she didn't want the fairy to know they were from Eternia and decidedly anti-Crystalist. How would she react?

"Hm," the fairy thought. "I suppose not. As long as we can restore the Crystal's light, it shouldn't matter who has the scriptures."

Alternis did not come to see her for the rest of the day. Edea busied herself with laundry, with eating meals in the mess hall with the rest of the soldiers, and with asking Airy as many questions about Crystalism as she could bear. The Darkness on the Crystals had caused the Great Chasm that appeared in Caldisla and swallowed the village of Norende, the fairy said. Only by cleansing the darkness could the chasm disappear and allow the world to heal. Edea was inclined to believe her by now; she had been right about the wind returning. Going out to the deck of the airship made that clear enough, with the wind blowing across her face and hair, strong enough that it caused waves in the sea they were moored on.

Finally, Alternis found her on the deck late the next night, as she enjoyed the feeling of the wind and of not being around a very persistent, nagging fairy. Airy had stayed in her quarters, hidden safely from prying eyes, since Edea did not share her bunk with anyone. A privilege of being the Grand Marshal's daughter.

"I thought I would find you here," he said softly to her. She almost couldn't see him in the darkness, clad in full armor as he was.

"You didn't choose me to be part of the team to go back to the Temple," she replied. He had chosen others instead. Most of the ship was going, and they would be departing the next evening, traveling under the cool cover of darkness. Even with the return of the wind, the heat reflected from the sand was incredibly hot, and Alternis had recommended they play it safe.

"You just returned from it," he pointed out. "No, I want you here with me."

She licked her lips, avoiding looking at him. "Is that it?"

"Here, read this," Alternis said instead of answering her, and he passed a piece of parchment to her. Edea stepped away from the rails of the deck so that she could enter the dim circle of light cast by one of the light crystals, peering at the parchment.

It was a message from the Sky Knights, quick and to the point. "Wind Vestal… _dead_ ," she read. "Killed in fight with _Ominas Crowe,_ along with accomplice, an unidentified boy." She looked up at Alternis, horrified. "They _killed_ her? But - Father said to take her alive! That was their mission!"

He took the parchment from her, folding it carefully. "I know. I'm not happy about it either, and I'm sure he will address it with them directly."

"Then that means the Crystals…"

"It will take our men two weeks to sweep the Temple of Wind of all valuables and return, perhaps longer, since they're having to take carriages and enough supplies for a whole squadron. I've given them instructions to also bury any remains that are found and to maintain watch on the Crystal for a few days, to watch for any changes. In the meantime, I've sent a message to the Grand Marshal that you and I will be investigating the Water Temple. Now that we have confirmation that the Wind Vestal is dead, the Water Vestal is the only one who yet lives. We must refocus our efforts on finding her, and I would like to see if the Water Crystal is now also tainted. When the Blood Rose first moved in, they reported that it wasn't."

"Another trip with you and I, then?" she asked. Despite how heavy her heart felt at the words in the message, something stirred in her.

"Yes," he replied, looking down at her, face unseen behind his helmet. Then carefully, he added. "Is that agreeable with you? We would be alone."

"Yes," she said. "Yes."

They would be alone, save for the fairy, and save for the Crystal, waiting for her.

* * *

The uncensored version may be located on AO3 under the same name. 

Praying Brage indicates that Edea does have the potential to be a Vestal, so I thought I would play with that along with an Altdea fic! If there's interest, I might expand this in later chapters. Please leave a comment if that's something you'd like to see!


End file.
